The Female Force

For Dior's spring-summer 2025 collection, creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri takes inspiration from the legendary Amazons and the house's rich sportswear archives for a collection that embodies female strength and power

- Nafeesa Saini

Since taking the helm at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri has consistently sought to bridge the worlds of fashion and feminism, transforming runway shows into platforms for showcasing female strength and empowerment. As the maison’s first female creative director, Chiuri approaches her role from such a lens, whether through feminist slogans on T-shirts, collaborations with female artists for the Lady Dior Art Project, or partnerships with women artisans.

Building on her championing spirit, Chiuri’s vision for the spring-summer 2025 collection is a rich portrayal of contemporary femininity and strength. By celebrating a multitude of perspectives, from athleticism to sensuality, from inner resilience to outward power, she offers a nuanced portrayal of what it means to be a strong woman today.

Fresh off the excitement of last year’s Paris Olympics, she brought this idea to life with a dramatic spectacle that began with whizzing arrows as models walked the runway. Staged at the Musée Rodin in Paris, the runway was transformed into a 70-m metaland-glass archery range. Italian artist and archer Sagg Napoli, the pseudonym of Sofia Ginevra Giannì, was behind the installation, which set the tone for an electrifying opening performance.

Clad in a one-shoulder bodysuit and a gladiator-style skirt, Sagg Napoli personified fierce athleticism as she fired arrows at targets, drawing attention to the emblematic texts splashed across the set. One such phrase, “May the building of a strong mind and a strong body be the greatest work I have ever made,” encapsulated the show’s overarching theme of empowerment and harmony between mind and body.